Team Research Resources

White & Case Jessup Guide

The White & Case Jessup Guide is a student-focused "how-to" manual for the Jessup Competition. The Guide contains information on: working with the Compromis, researching international law, writing Memorials, devising oral pleadings, and using skills learned from the Jessup in your legal career. The guide also contains video clips demonstrating good oral advocacy techniques. To access the guide, click here.

Access to Research Databases

Access codes to LexisNexis, Westlaw, HeinOnline, and the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation will be available to eligible teams upon registration. 

Introduction to International Law

This Introduction to International Law is a short document explaining the basic doctrines of international law. ILSA would like to acknowledge and thank Professor Robert Beckman of the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, who provided this document to ILSA for the benefit of Jessup teams and judges. Thanks are also owed to Dagmar Butte, ILSA Board Member, for helping Professor Beckman draft the Introduction.

Citation Systems

The Official Jessup Rules require teams to identify their sources in their Memorials (written submissions). The Rules also require teams to use a citation form that provides a description of each authority that is adequate enough to allow a reasonable reader to identify and locate the authority in a publication of general circulation.

The ILSA Executive Office recommends the following citation systems:

1. Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (7th Edition) Online access to this citation guide is available to all Jessup Participants, but requires a password. Additionally, Jessup Participants may purchase the hard copy version for 50% off the retail price by filling out and submitting this order form (Jessup Participants include Team Members, Coaches, Faculty Advisors, Administrators, and Judges).
2. ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation (Association of Legal Writing Directors, 4th ed., 2010)
3. The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (University of Oxford, 2006)
4. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Harvard Law Review Association, 19th ed. 2010)
5. Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (LII, Peter Martin, 2007 ed.)

Research Portal

Please take note of the following research portal, administered by the American Society of International Law, as a possible starting point for research: Electronic Information System for International Law.